Wednesday 12 March 2025 | 18:00 – 20:00hrs
Aberdeenshire Cricket Club, Aberdeen
Registration – £15 SUT members / £25 non-members (+ VAT) / £10 students
With the forecast increase in offshore floating wind developments, site investigation, including the site characterisation and environmental impact, is a key activity in the consenting and engineering processes. This evening meeting explores challenges facing the site investigation industry with speakers from different aspects of the process reflecting on their recent experiences to ensure the appropriate data is collected and interpreted to characterise future float wind developments.
Presenters:
Simon Oakley, Fugro; “Site survey data gathering opportunities: a contractor’s viewpoint”
Mark Finch, Ternan Energy, “The role of an Expert Witness in offshore foundation engineering and construction”
Oliver Lever, TechnipFMC, “Environmental Engineers and how they Generate Value”
Oliver Lever, Technip FMC
After a career in the military Oliver retrained and worked as an Environmental Manager in the Caspian Sea. On returning to the UK Oliver worked as an Environmental and Biodiversity interface between the Lenders and Company on both Chevron’s Future Growth Project (Kazakhstan) and the Exxon Mozambique LNG project, much of this time was spent developing project EIAs, writing environmental management system documents and assuring the environmental performance of Tier 1 Contractors working in protected environments. In 2019 Oliver transitioned to working on the UKCS for the newly formed Serica Energy. Whilst at Serica Oliver managed all permits, licences and consents for production and project works and was responsible for all emissions trading scheme calculation and reporting, Oliver also grew the Company’s ESG function. In 2022 Oliver moved to TFMC to grow a fledgling Advisory and Design Function, that Function now includes Technical Safety, Reliability, Environmental and Materials Engineers and provides support to TFMC product lines and projects globally. In his spare time Oliver is an active member of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team.
Mark Finch, Founder & CEO, Ternan Energy
Mark Finch is a Chartered Engineer with 35 years’ experience of offshore geotechnical engineering and installation. Mark has lived and worked in London, Congo, Aberdeen, Newfoundland and Paris. He now lives with his wife and children in the Scottish Borders.
Mark has worked for a broad range of organisations from site investigation contractors, consultancies and Tier 1 contractors to Oil & Gas Operators and Offshore Wind Developers.
Mark established his first consultancy, ISIS Energy, in 2004 which was subsequently acquired by Lloyds Register in 2008. In 2016 he founded Ternan Energy – an independent marine geoscience consultancy. Ternan Energy has grown to more than 30 technical specialists – with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh Oxford and Brighton. Ternan now does the majority of its work in offshore renewables worldwide.
Mark regularly acts as an Expert Witness in high-value technical disputes and advises clients across the globe. He is a Certified Expert Witness and a practising member of the Academy of Experts.
Simon Oakley, Fugro
For the past 10 years, Simon has led Fugro’s Marine Site Characterisation Client Deliverables (MSC CD) group in Aberdeen. The group encompasses the primary technical disciplines delivering data and information to clients; geophysics, hydrographic data processing and GIS. The MSC CD group has grown significantly in recent years supporting the rapidly developing offshore windfarm market, and is now the largest single client-facing team in Fugro globally. Simon’s technical background is a marine geophysicist, and Simon spent 7 years working on offshore projects across Europe and West Africa. Simon is a lead stakeholder transforming Fugro’s business in remote operations and developing the acquisition of marine geophysics via Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs).
Simon sits on the SUT’s Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics (OSIG) special interest group and OSIG executive committee. Simon is the co-chair of the SUT OSIG 2027 conference. Simon is a technical peer reviewer for the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE). Simon is an expert panel member for the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) Drilling Hazard Site Surveys (DHSS) panel. Simon is a STEM Ambassador and early careers mentor.
SUT Event Policy
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable, although discretion may apply in exceptional circumstances. The SUT reserves the right to make changes to the event schedule, lineup, or venue. Attendees assume all risks associated with the event. By entering, you consent to photography and video recording for promotional purposes. Terms and conditions apply.
Contact [email protected] for enquiries.
As Exail’s Director and Head of Sales in the UK and Ireland, Maverick is passionate about addressing real-world problems with Exail’s innovative solutions. With a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, his background in product marketing and go-to-market strategy has been crucial to building markets for new and developing technologies. Prior to Exail, he worked to introduce new subsea imaging technology to the offshore energy & defence markets when he joined the marine industry with 2G Robotics (now Voyis). His participation on the steering committee of the Marine Autonomy and Technology Showcase (MATS) is helping pave the way the we adopt autonomy in the maritime industry, and how the next generation of mariners and technologists develop innovative systems and solutions. Since 2020, he has been a part of Exail’s dynamic team in Aberdeen, leading a period of rapid growth of their cutting-edge marine robotics, autonomy, positioning, and navigation technologies.
